Sean generosity hasn't ended. He recently offered me a wealth of wisdom!
Can we have an "Ask Sean" catagory?
It seems that the most comprehensive audio answers come from Sean. He corrects us with non-threatening information. I believe he is really trying to help all of us become better informed budding audiophiles. I have no idea who Sean is or what his background is, but I often read his posts and say "wow, I only knew a little bit about that". I wanna be audio smarter! My wife believes this quest is hopeless. I think Sean is "The Answer". Any followers?
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Unsound, we're always glad to see both seasoned vets return to the fold. We all need time and space and i can understand your thoughts / feelings on the situation. I'm in one of those places right now, hence my lack of posting to the extent that i normally do. I hope that your vacation from Agon was beneficial, both to you as an individual and to your sense of musical enjoyment & respect for the system that you've already accumulated. Best wishes, good listening and see ya around : ) Sean > |
Well, the last time I posted here on the Audiogon forum I was trying to decide whether I wanted to continue to do so. A couple of days turned into a couple of weeks, and I finally decided to just lurk around for a year and see where this was going. In the mean time, Sean and David where kind enough to answer my e-mails when I needed some advise and I did do a little business here. I'm happy to say that things seem to have worked out very well indeed! I hope you will all welcome me back. I have a lot of personal things going on right now, so my participation may be sparse at first. I'm very much looking forward to catching up with you all. As always, thanks in advance and best regards. |
Personally, I enjoyed Sean's input on this site. I support free expression, and letting the chips fall where they may. However, I do agree that Audiogon was put in a position(with Sean's placement of the derogatory "ad") where action was required. One can only go so far without expecting consequenses. I'm sorry that it ended up that way. |
Marco, are you insinuating that I wear small shoes or you have a big mouth? = P One a side note... Even though the forum does not generate profit in terms of advertising fees, the forum does dictate how high these fees are. The higher the number of hits that this website generates determines how high they can charge their clients. And, I would think, it is the members' unbiased comments and entertainment value that supports the forum's and the site's hit counts. On another side note, come to think of it, this website atleast has kept banner ads away from the forum and kudos to them for that. And, no pop up ads either. |
It has nothing to do will lawsuit potential, it's simple business. Audiogon is a commercial, profit oriented site for the buying/selling of equipment. Dealers and manufacturers are the major source of revenue for Audiogon. The discussion forums may attract visitors to the site, but they generate zero revenues. So if you're the owner/manager of Audiogon and there's a problem in the forums that in any way threatens your major source of income, then the solution is obvious. Push comes to shove, the people who own and run Audiogon can simply discontinue the forums. It's not a free speech issue. If you got something to say Audiogon's not stopping you from starting your on website and saying anything you so desire. |
About the fears of lawsuits...the words "I think that..." pretty much protect you. You can express any opinions. If you represent them as fact (and you have credentials that suggest you are competent to judge these facts) you can be sued. Thus, in audio for example, an audio salesman would be held to a higher standard than Joe Sixpack. |
Hey, slap some Fluffernutter on that Shill-Spam and you nor your virtual toddlers will know the better. It's good eatin' fer sure! I'm tellin' you man, they'll go for it big time Viggen! It's better'N the boob! Helps grow strong bodies in eight essential ways! Gunbei eats it, and look at him! He's got the smooth green complexion of clay that all the chick- magnet-geeks would kill for! Besides, with those tiny feet of yours it'd take two or three of'em to fit in my virtual mouth. You know what they say about men's feet don't you? Tiny feet..........tiny shoes! Look it up, it's a fact! Marco |
Call me naive, but I can't/won't understand how people can support the idea of curtailing free speech because potential law suits might hurt profits. Jeesh, people died for these rights and now peoople are willing to sell them off so cheaply? I would think that controversy would actually attract business. Maybe this internet thing really won't last. I haven't made up my mind yet, but, I'm seriously considering following Sean out of here. |
Sean's World Dot Com!!!! Dude, that's 'audiorific'! He could follow it up with his very own local cable television program from his basement! Wonder if he has a bud that can be his Garth? Perhaps his brother. His dad can come in for guest appearences and they can crank up the tunes to eleven! Sean LIVES!! He's not a "WAS" - he's an "IS"!! Seriously....I agree, even when I disagreed or didn't understand, or wondered, how the f*&k does Sean find the time to answer all these friggen questions?! or thought, damn that Sean has a big mouth;-O I always make a point to read his responses.....then I have a good laugh and see what someone who really knows what their talking about has to say...you know, like Slappy or Gunbei! Just yanking your crank Sean! Damn, that's a big crank you got there man! I know you're reading this. Hey, put your picture up on the "What do you look like" thread that's recently started.....I really gotta see that!! I've got a picture in my head of a shaved head, white dude, bout 210-220 linebacker- sized, tatoos but not too many, a piercing here or there, leather jacket. I dunno where the heck this comes from, but that's what comes to mind for some reason. Maybe I should start a new thread called "What do you think Sean looks like"? It can become an art contest too, like used to be on the inside of matchbooks, or in comic books: "Can you Draw Sean?" If so you can earn a scholorship to the stay-at-home-and-learn-to-be-a-starving-artist Institute of Stereotyping. Marco |
Even when I disagreed with him I always found Sean interesting and informative. In the very best sense of the word Sean was a muckracker. That said, Sean appeared to have an axe to grind on any number of issues and given the volume and depth of his postings it probably is in his and Audiogon's best long term interests to part their ways. It seemed as if it was getting personal. I for one would strongly encourage Sean to start his own on-line forum. |
FWIW Sean was not banned because Larsky complained - he was banned because he took out an Ad in which he made some caustic remarks about the establishment. It was very much an "in your face" statement, and as much as I appreciate the help Sean has given folks here, and as much as dislike touts and shills, if I were the owner I would have banned him as well. Some one posted recently that the bann has been lifted - I don't know, but I hope he reappears. |
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Eldartford, The integrity debate was on the Dynamics vs. Electrostatics thread started by Lrsky. He started the thread asking the question about the differences in the two. As the thread was picking up steam, Sean gleened from Lrsky's posts that he intended to sell a brand of electrostats that he had been espousing. As you might have guessed, Sean took him to the wood shed and taught him a lesson. Lrsky's fellow dealers came to his aid and much emphasis was placed on the fact that Lrsky had decided to become a dealer after starting the thread. I agreed with Sean that Lrsky should have revealed his dealer status immediately when it happened. Lrsky has held some serious positions at major high end companies. He should be held to a higher standard and that is what Sean did. What Sean was complaining about to Audiogon was dealers who post and reply on the Gon and don't reveal their business associations/ conflicts of interest. My memory is foggy on this but I think it was stated that Lrsky actually complained to the Gon about Sean. In the end, the thread and Sean were deleted. I personally visit the site less now that he is gone. I used to enjoy reading his threads and answers that stirred the pot. I actually think Sean was a draw to Audiogon due to his knowledge and controversial stature. I thought of Sean like a doctor prescribing medication. His prescriptions were usually on target for the problem but the medication wasn't candy coated and often the pills were too big for some to swallow. |
Somehow I missed the "integrity debate" about audio salesmen. Sounds like amusing reading. Like used car and vinyl siding salesmen, on up (down?) the range to congressmen and even presidents, integrity is a quality that an individual can exhibit, no matter what the reputation of others in the profession. Objective review of the range of products offered as audio high end devices plainly reveals that many, if not most, lack any scientific basis, and, worst of all, often use misapplied science mumbo jumbo in the sales pitch. In this environment it is hardly surprising that audio salesmen have an uphill battle to establish their integrity. Sean has strong opinions and speaks his mind bluntly. I often disagree with him, but find his comments interesting, and often informative. I miss him. This is a chat room, where no one can get punched in the nose. "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me". |
Feed those theoretical rugrats some ground-up dishonest dealer. After you chop'em up into manageable parts, just shove'em in the meat grinder, dump that in the blender, bottle it all up, add some carrots and plenty of sugar and you got some good eatin's for them Jr. Administrator Rugrats. Should keep em happy for the summer, while not loosing a damn fine resource for all of us! Marco |
It's true Slappy. Sean revealed a dealer who was less than up front about disclosing his intentions. Then an exchange of accusations turned the dealers thread into an integrity debate. Then Sean took out an ad on Audiogon that apparently irritated the administrator who allegedly banned Sean from the Gon. Last I heard, Sean has been reinstated but has not been willing to post. He would like to see Audiogon require dealers to be identified. I communicated with Sean recently. He has posted some at the Asylum but is mostly just enjoying the music. Your story about the humping dogs was very funny. |
Slappy: Adam & Dr Drew ??? Sheesh. I'm resigning before we start : ) Cdc: I have a lot of respect for Art Dudley. I just wish that he would stick to audio when writing in audio mags. He's not afraid to share his opinion about gear ( or anything else for that matter ), even if it isn't "PC" or positive. Having said that, even if i don't agree with the point of view being expressed, i admire someone that is willing to let it all hang out as he does. Hopefully, Stereophile will not soften up / change his vantage point and he'll figure out that we are most interested in his thoughts on gear, not world situations. Sean > |
Sean's contribution is very significant. About time we provided something in return. I submit that Sean, like all respectable Irishmen, needs a drink & a project. I expect that too much of the latter probably robs him of the former:) -- unfortunately... I'm too far away to supply the drink. HOWEVER, I can supply an extra, "A'gon", project: designing a symmetrical rca-terminated IC cable: Being an experienced RF-er, Sean can easily do the calculations required for rca terminated cables -- to whit, rca being ASYMMETRIC, what's the wiring geometry, implementation technique, etc, to make the cable symmetric within the audio frequencies range... I.e., diametre ratio b/ween hot & return wires, how many twists/length, shielding necessary (or can we do without, for now), etc. Say we use enamel-coated copper to make things simple... How about that? I'm joking, although I've been trying to crack this nut with indifferent succes for some time now! Good to have you around, Sean! |
Thank you for the prompt assistance Sean! I will have to give that recording a careful listen at lower volumes and get back with a response on that thread. I could answer from memory, but I don't think listening thus far has been as deliberate as it could. I'm usually just enjoying the recording so much that I get lost in her voice. It's certainly much less apparent if it is there, but I'll check again. I'm a man of clutter myself, but I usually know where everything is......well, most things anyway! Now where is that damn CD?! Thanks again! Marco |
Mattybumpkin - when I read your post a different Professor came to mind as a picture in my head of Sean: Remember the professor on "Rocky and Bullwinkle" that they always went to for science questions. He'd open his closet to get the magic blackboard to explain upon. Opening his closet a cascade of miscelaneous objects and devices would come tumbling forth and bury everyone around. He'd emerge from the rubble with his magic blackboard to expand it to a much larger size and explain Rocky, and or Bullwinkle's scientific questions......Audiogon may be Sean's magic blackboard. At least we're saved from all the misc. stereo debris cascading out of his closet like an audio avalanche!! Hey Professor, er, I mean Sean.....I'd like to I take Mt10425 up on his great suggestion and point you to my recent post to the 'amplifier' section. Somehow it got listed as a Review(?!). Anyway, you can find it here. Best, Marco |
Cdc: I am not a huge fan of most Goertz interconnects, so there must have been some type of mis-communications here. Having said that, i AM a huge fan of their flat speaker cables. As far as their "Micro-purl" interconnects go, they can work pretty well for balanced cables but less so for single-ended (RCA) based cables in my experience. The dielectric used is of low quality and the potential for VERY high capacitance, which rolls off the top end, is also quite prominent. The electrical characteristics will vary depending on how the conductors are configured / wired up. Given that these are a three conductor design ( like the PBJ but WAY different ), they can be used either way ( XLR or RCA ). For use as a balanced cable, the cables should be configured so that you have the hot, neutral and ground in that order. Given that some XLR equipped gear uses different pin configurations than others, the only way to know if the cable itself was configured in the appropriate manner would be to verify continuity from pin to pin. I'm not sure which pin configuration that Goertz uses from the factory, so you might want to find out what lay-out your specific gear uses and then discuss this with Goertz if you're interested in using these cables. As a side note, Component A, using one XLR pin configuration, combined with Component B, which uses the other XLR pin configuration, will produce horrible results. As such, you should ALWAYS make sure that your components use the same pin configuration BEFORE buying or using XLR type cables. There are two different standards in use and it can be VERY confusing. As an RCA type cable, I found these to sound somewhat bright and bloated. I would think that these cables would work best in a "budget" system that lacked extension at both ends or in an HT installation. The tilted up extremes might tend to sound more "dynamic" or "punchy", which might be exactly what you want for a lack-luster movie based system. Their flat interconnects, the one's that look like mini versions of their flat speaker cables, are VERY high in capacitance. With some components, high frequency loss and blurring may become instantly noticeable. I have a set of Goertz Silver Sapphire's and tried them between the digital source ( Philips SACD 1000 at the time ) and my HT Pre/Pro ( Sunfire Theater Grand ). I compared these against several other designs in that specific location of the system. Some of the other cables were copper, some were silver and some were a hybrid silver & copper. The Silver Sapphire's didn't do too badly and actually beat a few other cables. While the SACD 1000 didn't have the most "revelatory" high end, i didn't notice any detectable reduction in extension or blurring. Other components may not respond in the same fashion. As such, you might want to check with the manufacturer of your components to see how load stable they are with high capacitance interconnects. Other than that, i do appreciate the kind words of support from all of you folks. Best wishes to all and good listening... Sean > |
I appreciate Sean's common sense look at audio. It cuts through a lot of the hype of most reviews. Makes a lot of manufacturers look stupid but hey, that's half the fun (I'm kidding). Can I really ask questions here? Well I've been wondering for over a year about Sean's recommendation for Goertz I/C's. He said something about them being the best in existence but for a few easily corrected design flaws. Never quite understood what the flaws were but always wanted to try them except I forgot what particular model it was. And #2 when can we all come over and hear The System? Thanks. |
I appreciate Sean's common sense look at audio. It cuts through a lot of the hype of most reviews. Makes a lot of manufacturers look stupid but hey, that's half the fun (I'm kidding). Can I really ask questions here? Well I've been wondering for over a year about Sean's recommendation for Goertz I/C's. He said something about them being the best in existence but for a few easily corrected design flaws. Never quite understood what the flaws were but always wanted to try them except I forgot what particular model it was. And #2 when can we all come over and hear The System? |
Dweller: Much of how long components can sit will depend on the temperatures that they are exposed to and the build quality of the components used. Due to the high voltages involved, it is easier for a cap to "go south" in these devices than it is for SS. That's because the high voltages make it easier to jump across / arc out whereas the lower voltages found in SS gear won't do that. With all of that in mind, most newer caps are very stable and can hold their own for quite an amount of time. Capacitors drying out were much more of a problem 20+ years ago and have only gotten better since then. As such, i don't see much of a problem with letting items sit for extended periods of time. At the same time, i would not take an amp out of storage and throttle it hard right off the bat. Any other type of line level device should be okay for normal use. If you want to be "careful", you can purchase a variac and power the devices up gradually before applying full voltage. This allows the capacitors to gradually "re-form" without massive in-rush current, increasing both their reliability and minimizing the potential for damage. Starting off at 10% - 20% of rated voltage for 24 hours and then gradually stepping the voltage up over an extended period of time ( several days ) is the best way to do things. This is kind of a slow and painful process ( who wants to wait and got the room for all this stuff to be laying around plugged in??? ), but it can be worthwhile if you have very old gear and / or gear that has sat for an extended period of time. As a side note, it is better to simply power up gear every now and then rather than let it sit forever and then try to variac it. Jes: Here's a list of some of the companies that i've worked with in the past. Some of the products involved are radio communications transceivers, antenna design, antenna mount design, microphone design, communications grade speaker design, wire & cable design, etc... Ranger Communications: Ranger is based out of Malaysia and is one of the largest manufacturers of radio communication devices in the world. They design, build and manufacturer well over a half dozen different brands of products, both for themselves and for other manufacturers. When they introduced a new product line appr 5 years ago, i worked on the prototypes and was the "expert" quoted in their press releases that were sent out to various distributors and retailers. Funny thing about that situation was that i didn't quite say what they put in print / attributed to me. Do you wanna guess if what they printed was MORE or less "flattering" to their products than what i actually said??? Remember, they are advertising their own products here : ) As a side note, i have pretty much broken all contact with these people. Due to what turned out to be a rather "one sided" relationship and a LOT of broken promises, i no longer correspond or consult with them. Galaxy Electronics: This company produces radio communications transceivers, transmitters and HF linear amplifiers marketed under two different names. I have worked with this company in resolving various production problems for appr 7 years now. Cobra Electronics: Manufacturer of radio communications transceivers, hand-held two way radios, communications accessories such as microphones, speakers, antennas, cordless telephones, radar detectors, etc... Worked as consultants helping to solve production problems / reduce failure rate on specific products. After implimenting the suggestions made, both product reliability and performance have drastically increased and sales are up. The person responsible for contacting us and putting many of our recommendations into production has since been promoted. Astatic: Currently under new ownership, Astatic manufacturers communications grade microphones, antennas, antenna mounts, etc... They also used to manufacture audiophile grade phono cartridges, replacement stylus assemblies, etc.. I had previously worked directly with Scott ( former VP ) and Mark ( former head design engineer ) on several projects. I am currently working with their marketing / QA department in trying to resolve an on-going problem that came about due to a production change. Workman Electronics / Twinpoint Incorporated: This company manufactures / imports / distributes various electronic and communications based products under multiple names. They produce everything from wiring harnesses to light bulbs to antennas to speakers to microphones to antenna and radio mounts, etc... Many of their products / assemblies are sold to other manufacturers who market them as OEM parts. I've worked with one of the owners of this company for several years both developing new products and refining existing designs. Wholesale Parts Incorporated: Another manufacturer / importer / distributor / OEM supplier of misc radio communications and electronics products. Have worked directly with the owner in refining existing antenna designs and antenna mounts in the past. Am currently designing new antennas and antenna mounts for future introduction. I was asked by one of the largest wholesale distributors of RF gear in the USA to write a column in their monthly sales literature. The owner of this distributorship also asked me to write a book pertaining to RF communications i.e. kind of a "big dummy's guide" for several different types of installations. Given that i don't like the business ethics of this company and didn't want to be publicly associated with them, i turned them down. There are other situations that i could mention, but i think that you get the idea. As i've mentioned before, i am basically a "tweaker" i.e. good at "refining" existing designs. Most of my work with the various manufacturers listed above has typically been to take an existing design and "squeeze" measurably better performance and reliability from it. Many times i am able to do so while lowering production costs, which really makes the manufacturers happy. I have also built prototypes and given design specifications for new products, so i'm not just limited to "cleaning up" someone else's mistakes. Sean > |
When I envision Sean and his rig's, I think of the professor on Gilligan's Island. Half's of basketball's holding woofers made out of latex gloves and tweeters made out of soda cans, speaker wires made out of aluminum foil, a rubber band drive cdp, paper clip IC's, etc. Interesting part is that his rigs are probably better sounding than most SOTA rigs costing mega bucks. Sean, thank you for the wealth of knowledge that you are always happy to provide. I admire that you never really promote anyone's products, but go beyond labels to help everyone understand. Regards, PS - Do you have my coat hanger IC's done yet? Regards, |
